Filing cabinet



Oct. 26, 1954 J'. H. PAGE 2,692,811

. FILING CABINET Filed Oct. 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l In vena?" Oct. 26,1954 J. H. PAGE FILING CABINET Filed Oct. 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Oct. 26, 1954 FILING CABINET John H. Page, Muskegon, Mich.,assigner tu Shaw Walker Company, Muskegon, Mich., a corporation ofMichigan Application October 24, 1952, Serial No. 316,662

4 Claims. l

This invention relates to improvements in filing cabinets, and moreparticularly to fire insulated cabinets used for housing bookkeepingrecords, although not limited to such use.

Insulated cabinets have relatively thick walls and are bulky,consequently, it is often inconvenient to obtain access to bookkeepingrecords when led in the drawers in the usual position facing the frontof each drawer. Moreover, the user often nds it more convenient to referto the files from one side of the open drawer in which the records arekept.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide novel meansfor mounting auxiliary filing trays for sliding extension in crosswiseposition in the cabinet drawers, so as to afford more ready andconvenient access to said files when the drawers are open.

A further object of the invention is to provide endwise reversiblesupporting means for the ling trays so as to permit the files in saidtrays to face toward either side of the cabinet drawer, as desired, butlimiting the extensible movement of the trays when adjusted in eitherdirection.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from time totime as the following description proceeds.

The invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of an insulated filing cabinet, showingone of the drawers open, and with a :filing tray in partly extendedposition toward one side of the cabinet drawer.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail vertical section taken transversely ofthe cabinet drawer, showing a ling tray in fully retracted position insaid drawer, as when the drawer is ready to be closed in the cabinet.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing the filing tray infully extended position toward one side of the drawer.

Figure 4 is detail vertical section taken transversely of the filingtray, but with the les removed therefrom.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail plan view of the reversible pan forsupporting the filing tray in the drawer.

Figure 6 is an end View of the pan.

Referring now to details of the embodiment of my invention shown in thedrawings, an insulated ling cabinet of conventional construction isindicated generally at I0, with two sliding drawers II, II, mounted forextension from the front of the cabinet in any suitable manner, as by apair of extension slides I2, I2, xed on 2 opposite sides of each drawerand slildably sup ported in the cabinet in the usual manner. Each drawerII includes low side walls IIa, IIa, to which the slides I2, I2 areconnected, but preferably not exceeding the height of said slides.

Each of the drawers has a shallow false bottom, herein formed by afiller pan indicated generally at I3, spaced above the true bottom I4 ofsaid drawer. This filler pan is detachably mounted within the drawerwith its main upper surface I5 disposed slightly below the level of thedrawer slides I2, I2. An angle bar Il is attached as by welding alongthe upper surface of said pan. An inverted shaped rib I8 is attachedalong the opposite side of said pan, and a Z- shaped retainer bar I9 isattached to said upper` surface intermediate and parallel to bar I'l andrib IB, but nearer to the latter. The angle bar I'I preferably extendsslightly higher than the rib I8; reinforcing U-shaped ribs 25, 23 mayalso be secured to the under face of the pan.

The ller pan I3 may also be provided with suitable downwardly extendingmarginal flanges 2l), 2l along its sides and ends respectively, adaptedto fit within the adjacent side and end walls of the drawer and beingsupported on the true bottom I4 of the latter as shown in Figures 2 and3.

One or more of the le trays, indicated generally at 30, are whollysupported by their respective drawers II for extension or retraction ina direction generally transverse to the extensible movement of thedrawers on their slides I2, I2. Each tray 3U consists of an upstandingend wall 3l, an opposite end wall 32, a bottom wall 33 and a pair ofside bars 34, 34, connected between the two end walls. In the formshown, the bottom wall 33 is formed of sheet metal, with a depressedcentral portion 35, and arched side portions 36, terminated indownwardly extending flanges 3l, 3l. Said tray provides an opencontainer for a plurality of le folders indicated A in Figures l, 2 and3. Since the file folders in each tray are normally arranged for accessfrom one side of the drawer II, 'the end wall 3I may, for convenience,be considered as the front wall of the tray, and the opposite end wall32 may be considered as the rear wall of the tray.

A removable end plate 38 for the files may be inserted at the front ofthe tray and a follower plate 39 may be used at rear of the tray asusual. The tray is mounted on a carriage indicated generally at 43,provided with roller means for engaging the upper surface of the fillerpan I3. In the form shown herein, the carriage consists of a sheet metalstrip 4| extending transversely beneath the depressed central portion35, and having upwardly arched extensions forming supporting brackets42, 42 for rollers 43, 43. Said brackets are also connected to thedownwardly anged portions 31, 31 of the pan bottom as is best shown inFigure 4.

The rollers 43, 43 are located nearer the rear than the front end of thetray, in the form shown herein, said rollers being disposedapproximately one-third the distance from the rear to the front end ofsaid tray.

An elongated strip of metal, generally Z- shaped in cross section, issecured as 'by welding along the under face of the carriage 40 betweenthe rollers 43, 43. Said Z-shaped strip forms, in effect, a hook 45opening toward'the front end of the tray, in position to becomeinterengaged beneath the Z-shaped retainer bar i9, iixed on the uppersurface of the ller pan as previously described.

The use and operation of the device is as follows:

When the drawer is closed, the le tray normally rests in transverseposition therein, with its lower front and rear edges rested againstendwise movement -slightly below the side walls of the drawer. In 'theform shown, the rear end of the tray abuts the upstanding angle bar ll,while the front end rests on the rib I3 and on the retainer bar i9rising from the iiller pan.

When the drawer is open, the front end of the tray can be liftedsumciently to clear the adjacent side wall and slide l2 of the drawer.The tray can then be easily shifted forwardly on its rollers until itshook strip 45 becomes engaged beneath the Xed retainer bar I9 on theller pan, to limit outward movement of the tray and also hold it againstforward tilting, in a position partially extended beyond the tray sideof thedrawer, as shown in Figures l and 3. 'The position of the rollersnear the rear of the tray results in very little eii'ort being requiredto lift the front end of the tray and roll it forward.

The tray can also be swung at varying angles to the side of the drawer,as desired by the operator.

When the operator desires to have the file tray face toward the oppositeside of the drawer, the tray is temporarily removed, the ller pan iswithdrawn from the drawer, and replaced in reversed end to end position.The tray is then replaced in reversed position on the nller pan so as tobe operable in the same manner as before, excepting that it is nowaccessible from the opposite side of the drawer.

It will also be understood that a plurality of trays, such as two, canbev mounted in one drawer, when the latter is of suiiicient length.

Although I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, itwill be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the detailedfeatures shown and described, but that various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as deiinedin the following claims.

I claim:

1, In combination with a filing cabinet, a low sided drawer slidablymounted in said cabinet, a filing tray adapted to iit in said drawerwhen it is closed, said tray having roller means intermediate its endsaffording rolling movement of said tray transversely of the direction ofsliding movement or said drawer and also affording horizontal swivellingmovement of said tray into varying angles relative to said drawer whenthe latter is open, and interengaging hook means on said tray and thedrawer bottom respectively, for limiting the transverse and angularmovement of said tray in extended position over and partially beyond onelow side of said drawer when the latter is open.

2. A filing cabinet structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein theroller means are disposed adjacent the rear end of the filing tray.

3. A filing cabinet structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein thelower iront and rear edges of the filing tray are normally nestedbetween the side walls of the drawer, but permitting the lower frontedge of said tray to be lifted over one low side wall of said drawer formoving the tray to a transversely extended position.

4. A filing cabinet structure in accordance with claim 2, wherein asupporting pan is detachably mounted for endwise reversible adjustmentin the bottom of the drawer in supporting relation to said roller means,and said supporting pan carries part of the hook means for limiting thetransverse and swivelling movements of the tray relative to one or theother low side of the drawer, depending upon the adjusted position ofthe pan in the drawer.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,108,082 Pennock Aug. 18, 1914 1,385,143 Ulrich Aug. 2, 19211,659,164 Sanders Feb. 14, 1928 2,049,337 Strayer July 28, 1936

